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Thursday, September 28, 2006

One Thursday night, Nanette had justJENN over to watch The Office, their favorite show. Jenn had her first sandwich from Bay Cities Deli. Nanette and Brent enjoyed delicious cream puffs from Beard Papa's, compliments of Jenn.

They laughed and gasped and cringed as they watched The Office. And then Jenn gave Nanette goodies brought back from her trip to Hawaii.

Look at all the treats!

In addition to the Hawaiian treats, Jenn brought an extra special gift from fellow blogger, Myra. As Nanette unwrapped the beautifully packaged gift, she giggled in anticipation as she hoped it was what she thought it was. Last month Nanette had asked Myra if one of her creations had any siblings that Nanette could adopt and bring to the mainland. Low and behold, Myra had given Jenn a gorgeous, hand-sewn (absolutely stunning) turtle for Nanette to have as her own! Nanette was thrilled! She decided to call him "Sam."

Monday, September 25, 2006

As I'm sure my married blogger friends can attest, the most frequent questions newlyweds are faced with have to do with babies. So let me answer your baby-related questions that you haven't asked...yet.

When are you going to start a family? Probably next year.

Why the wait? We want to go to Italy first because traveling is much easier without a baby in tow. We also would like to try to upgrade to a larger house.

How many? Probably two. We don't want anymore than we can afford.

What's your preference for boys or girls? No preference, although it would be nice to have one of each. Growing up I always thought it'd be great to have boy-girl twins, but I know better now.

Names? No ideas. I do know that Brent hasn't liked most of the names I've ever thrown out. I'm sure we'll have some interesting discussions when the time comes.

"So scared of gettin older. I'm only good at being young. So I play the numbers game. I find a way to say that life has just begun." - John Mayer, Stop This Train

Number of Marc Broussard shows I enjoyed: 1Number of concert-goers I wanted to punch for poor concert etiquette: 5, maybe more

Number of Mexican snowcones (raspados) that I had: 1Number I wanted: 4+

Number of times I watched The Office premiere again: 1Number of times I'll probably watch it again: 2

Number of minutes I cried from laughter during Jackass 2: 5Number of times I almost vomitted during Jackass 2: 3Number of times I covered my eyes during Jackass 2: 4

"In business, it's about numbers. It's all about how much you bring in to the bottom line at the end of the year. Rather than, 'You should just buy this product because I'm cute.'" - Bill Rancic, The Apprentice

Friday, September 22, 2006

I'm a little hopped up on a Coffee Bean Pumpkin Pie Latte as I forgot to ask for decaf (or half-decaf), like I usually do so please forgive my hyper rambling in advance.

Last night I had dinner with a fabulous bunch of my friends while I TiVo'd The Office and Grey's Anatomy. (Yay for great company and yummy food!) I think I drove lightspeed home (safely, of course) and Brent had to tell me to simmer down when I ran in, screaming, "Let's watch The Office! Let's watch The Office!" It was SO. FREAKING. HILARIOUS. I won't post any spoilers, but it was a really great way to start off the season. I was literally screaming at points, and had tears of laughter in my eyes. I also need to find some office supplies to encase in Jell-o.

I did watch Grey's Anatomy and it looked good, but I need to rewatch it because I was tired and was trying to get Jenn an email recap for The Office because she sadly missed it while she's in Hawaii. And as much as I love Grey's, The Office is my priority any day. I also TiVo'd 6 degrees, but haven't seen it yet.

This weekend I'm trying to talk Brent into going to the Lobster Festival in Redondo Beach, and we're going to see Marc Broussard and G. Love perform in Anaheim. Have I mentioned that Marc is one of my favorite live performers? Can't wait! Can't wait! Can't wait!

Oh, and earlier this week I saw Grease on the Santa Monica Pier, as previously mentioned. It was a happy surprise to see Sha Na Na (the band from the Bandstand scene in Grease) there, performing, along with a bunch of the cast to celebrate the release of a special edition DVD. Cast members included the folks who played Frenchy (Didi Conn), Kenickie (Jeff Conaway), Patty Simcox (Susan Buckner), Cha Cha DiGregorio (Annette Charles) and Eugene Felnic (Eddie Deezen). By the way, do you know the Hand Jive? My friends and I did, and we enjoyed doing it, but no one else seemed to know it. I thought this was a given for any Grease fan.

"Men are rats, listen to me, they're fleas on rats, worse than that, they're amoebas on fleas on rats. I mean, they're too low for even the dogs to bite. The only man a girl can depend on is a daddy." - Frenchy, Grease

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

My hubby loves me. He proved it with this red Swingline stapler. (Notice the fun Kleenex box on my desk.)

"...but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay because if they take my stapler then I'll set the building on fire..." - Milton, Office Space

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Ahoy, i'm feelin' better. Me think my cold is finally gone. I decided t' skip Ray's concert last eve in order t' get better. I was sad t' miss Ray but happy that someone else who was eager t' see him got t' enjoy the show. Avast I hear the tickets war goin' for quite a bit, too.

Tonight I'm seein' Grease on the Santa Monica Pier. Goin' t' have good sandwiches with some good friends.

You landlubbers enjoy the rest of the day, talk like pirates or you'll be walking da plank and find yerself in Davey Jones' locker!

Kramer: You'll be the first modern-day pirate, Jerry! Jerry: But I don't want to be a pirate!- Seinfeld

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Friday night Brent and I checked out famed graffiti artist Banksy's exhibit. You may have heard about him recently because he replaced a bunch of Paris Hilton's CDs with satirical versions. You can check out a recap and pics of the exhibit here. The artist is getting a lot of flack for using a live elephant in one of his pieces. The elephant was off the clock by the time we got there, so we didn't have a chance to see him.

We had planned to visit my family and friends in Visalia on Saturday and Sunday, but I woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat and flu-symptoms so we skipped the trip. I've gone through a box of Kleenex within 24 hours and my nose is red like Rudolph. And there's now a permanent outline of my body on our couch. By the way, weekend (day and night) tv SUCKS, even with a bunch of channels via DirecTV. And I reached the end of the internet - twice!

Ooooh! Almost forgot about one of the weekend highlights. Today I decided to go to the grocery store with Brent. You know, to get out of the house.

Brent: A lot has changed while you've been inside.Me: Really? Like what?Brent: Well, Santa Monica seceded from California. It's now a part of Delaware.Me: Oooh! What else?Brent: Dogs can fly now!Me: Wow!Brent: Yeah, we did NOT see that coming!

"I'm either so sick in the head I need to be bled dry to quit. Or I just really used to love him. I sure hope that’s it." - Fiona Apple, Tymps

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Last night we attended NBC's Pilot Party at the Museum of Television and Radio, where we got to preview the pilot episodes for a bunch of their new shows before they air. Here's what we saw and what I thought:

Studio 60 - I'm sad to admit that I've never watched an episode of the West Wing or Sports Night, the creator Aaron Sorkin's previous shows. However, I really enjoyed this show about what it's like behind the scenes of a sketch comedy show. It was fast paced, apparently like most of Sorkin's creations. This was probably my favorite of the bunch and I'll definitely be tuning in.

Friday Night Lights - This show is based on the movie of the same name, although Brent and I both agreed that it seemed more along the lines of Varsity Blues. It's an interesting show, but I don't think I'm its target audience. It's like Felicity on a football field. Eh. As much as I act like a teeny bopper, I won't be tuning in to watch more of this.

Heroes - I was excited to see this show about "ordinary people with extraordinary powers." Brent and I stumbled upon the filming of the scenes of a guy jumping off a building earlier this year while in downtown LA. The show was entertaining and the premise is interesting. I'll probably check it out.

Twenty Good Years - This is a sitcom featuring John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor. It had its funny moments, but this seems geared toward an older crowd so we won't be tuning in.

They ended with Kidnapped, but by then we were ready to leave so we didn't see it. That's a lot of tv in one night, even without commercials! I do love Jeremy Sisto, so I may watch it when it airs.

They were supposed to show 30 Rock, which we were looking forward to, but it's still in post-production.

"Due to an accident today at the Quahog Cable Company, all television transmissions will be out for an undetermined ammount of time. Of course no one can see this news program so it doesn't really matter what we say. I'm the lord Jesus Christ. I think I'll go get drunk and beat up some midgets. How about you, Diane?" - Tom Tucker, Family Guy

Monday, September 11, 2006

...when one of your favorite actresses replies to a silly MySpace message you sent her regarding her cousin-in-law's awesome invention and how excited you are for the upcoming season of her show....a good first day for your hubby at his new job....a schedule full of concerts, dinner with good friends and previews of upcoming new shows on NBC....discovering new, yummy treats like cream puffs from a new, nearby location of Beard Papa's, and raspados (Mexican snowcones) with fresh, yummy ingredients.

"Women are like wolves. If you want a wolf, you have to trap it. You have to snare it. And then you have to tame it. Keep it happy. Care for it. Feed it. Lovingly, the way an animal deserves to be loved. And my animal deserves a lot of loving." - Dwight, The Office

Sunday, September 10, 2006

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I arrived at work extremely early, around 5:30 a.m., to meet other co-workers. We had stayed late the night before to assemble a bunch of fruit and vegetable baskets to drop off at various broadcast news stations to celebrate a statewide health day on Sept. 11. Deliveries of products/food/info etc. to news stations and other media outlets is a common practice in the PR world. If done correctly, with the right kinds of products at the right time, the media would often report on a store opening and in this case hopefully my client's health initiative.

Many of us were still wiping the sleep from our eyes when my co-worker Atineh arrived from a long commute in. She said, "I just heard on the radio that a plane hit the World Trade Center." We were in shock and disbelief. We called our supervisor, who wasn't coming in to help us with the deliveries, and woke her up to tell her what we heard. "Go ahead and do the deliveries. That isn't a big deal." We didn't expect that response, but we started loading our cars in preparation for the deliveries. Then we received a call back from our supervisor. "A second plane hit the other tower. This IS going to be a big deal in the news."

We didn't know if we'd still have to work that day, so we went to the nearby Starbucks before the official work hours started. On our way we heard that one of the towers had fallen. We stood there in a daze with the other coffee shop customers, not understanding why or how this would happen. We went back to the office, where we were given the official ok to leave. On the way out I found a co-worker in our multimedia room, watching the news. I stood there with him and watched the second tower fall.

I went back to my apartment and called Brent at his parents to wake him up and tell him what had happened. I called my dad to tell him I was ok (all the big cities, especially LA, were fearful of similar attacks). Then I went to Brent's house and spent the day glued to the tv, finding out more about the other attacks. I had spent most of the day in shock, but when they started mentioning potential deathtolls I found myself in tears. It was just too much and too sad.

They say that 9/11 may be our generation's defining moment, much like Kennedy's assassination and Pearl Harbor was for others. There are very few days in my life that I remember so vividly and I know that even if 9/11 doesn't technically define our generation that it's something will, for years to come, be part of "Where were you on...." conversations.

Where were you on 9/11?

"As memory may be a paradise from which we cannot be driven, it may also be a hell from which we cannot escape." - John Lancasting Spalding

Monday, September 04, 2006

- cupcakes from Susie Cakes, a new bakery in Brentwood. I bought half a dozen, including lemon, red velvet, chocolate mint, peanut butter and vanilla. Dare I say that I enjoyed them more than the Sprinkles ones I tried recently? They weren't as dense and the frosting was amazing! They're described as "frosting filled," but I wouldn't call them that as the amount was akin to that of a Hostess cupcake. I'm sad I didn't try the Orange Creamsicle flavor. They had it (they have all their flavors every day), but I must have overlooked it. Best of all - there wasn't a huge line like there is at Sprinkles AND it's much closer to our Santa Monica pad. Woo hoo! Next time I'll have to try their banana pudding. I hear it's to die for!- a cupcake courier. Jenn pointed it out to me via the MySpace blog of Jenna, the woman who plays Pam on The Office. Her cousin-in-law invented it. I had been looking for a cupcake carrier and had seen ones that hold two dozen, but this one holds three. I think it'll be perfect to transport ice cream cone cupcakes.- new albums via iTunes, including Ray LaMontagne (in prep for his upcoming show at the Troubador), Snow Patrol (their Chasing Cars song is like listening to a hug) and Teddy Geiger (it was on sale and I loved him as Wayne on Love Monkey).- strawberry Pocky, aka Heaven on a Stick. Yum!

"It's not a toy. It makes real cupcakes, with a 40 watt bulb, and there's icing packets. But the secret ingredient is love. Damn it." - Captain Murphy, Sealab 2021

Sunday, September 03, 2006

I was going to wait until I actually started the volunteer program before I revealed what it was, but having talked to one of the regional coordinators and discovering that they are in urgent need of additional volunteers, I'm going to discuss it now.

I'm volunteering with an organization called School on Wheels, which provides tutors for homeless children all across Southern California. The application process is fairly simple. You fill out an application online, get a background check/fingerprinting done (took about a half hour), attend an orientation session and then you're assigned a child to tutor once a week for an hour. In addition to tutoring, I'm going to try to tap into my PR experience to help them spread the word about this wonderful organization, starting here.

I encourage all of my So. Cal readers who have an hour a week to spare to consider spending that hour helping a homeless child further their education.

"People seldom refuse help, if one offers it in the right way." - A.C. Benson

Friday, September 01, 2006

Brent is finishing up his last days at his current job because he has been offered a fabulous new job! It's a great opportunity and I'm very, very happy for him. He's been in the PR agency world for a long time and this new job is a great in-house gig where I know he's going to continue to thrive, kick ass and be the PR rockstar that he is!

Congrats, sweetie!

"If I had to, I could clean out my desk in five seconds and nobody would ever know I had ever been here. And I'd forget too." - Ryan, The Office